Heart of the Matter
by artemisian
Summary: In which Harry and Illumi become a very strange pair of friends and somehow, no one is very surprised.


Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the idea.

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Summary: In which Harry and Illumi become a very strange pair of friends and somehow, no one is very surprised.

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Well, I started watching Hunter x Hunter and got to Illumi's introduction and I was like ... dude ... I like your character design. And then I got to the one-on-one fight between Illumi and Killua and I was like ... damn ... you're kinda messed up, dude. And then I got to thinking about what if Illumi had a friend like Gon when he was younger.

And then I was like ... what if _Harry_ was that friend.

And then I was like ... what if the Zoldycks were a (mostly) loving, if very strange family. More like Addams family, instead of wildly abusive.

And _then_ I was like ... _shit, _I have to like _write _this.

So here I am. With this very indulgent crack fic. Story will be presented in drabbles, but they won't be in chronological order.

Pairing(s): ... endgame Illumi/Harry, probably.

Warning(s): Canon typical violence (mention of Illumi killing ppl, Harry has broken bones, etc), Illumi being creepy?

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1. The x First x Meeting

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There's a boy lying in an alley – silent, still, and likely dead.

Black hair, darker than his own, small (perhaps 149 centimeters and 40 kg), with no shoes, lying on his back with his facial features contorted in pain, perhaps around Illumi's age.

Illumi had noticed the boy on his way to perform his 27th assassination and upon seeing the body, a strange emotion had filled his chest and he'd stopped for just a moment to survey the prone figure and evaluate just what about the boy had piqued his interest. It was futile however, and after a moment Illumi had walked away to find the politician he'd been contracted to kill. The assassination was completed in a timely manner, clean, discreet, with an underlying tone of viciousness evident in the horror that made itself visible on the man's face as his last expression when confronted with the child assassin. After cleaning his weapons of blood and solemnly washing his hands, Illumi found himself wandering back to the same alley to stand just a meter outside of it, staring intently at the tiny body and wondering why boy was so intriguing to him.

A groan sounds from the prone body, echoing slightly in the narrow alley. The boy makes no attempt to move, however, laying still and silent, even as eyelids flutter and fingers twitch as the boy wakes only to fall into unconscious once more - perhaps from the pain of broken bones making itself apparent to the conscious mind.

The right arm, left leg, and right leg are broken, but where exactly Illumi can't tell. He can make an educated guess for the right radius and both the right and left fibula and fibula from the way the limbs are positioned crookedly, but with the baggy clothing obscuring the boy's figure, Illumi can only make conjecture at this point, with nothing but guesswork to back it up.

It's just as Illumi readies himself to leave, shutting that strange emotion away and trying to guard against such weakness, when a strange energy gently swirls around the boy. To almost any other person, such energy would be invisible, but to Illumi's keen eyes it's able to be clearly seen with its slight wisps and nearly translucent color. Illumi tracks the energy billowing and shifting around the body intensely, eyes widening almost imperceptibly as the broken bones right from their broken angle and appear to heal, while the many small cuts and scratches close up as well.

Another groan sounds from the boy, although this one less pained and more tired. Illumi steps into the alley and towards the other boy, watching in thinly veiled fascination as the energy that so gently swirled around the prone figure launched itself towards Illumi, possibly with intent to harm. Just as he was about to jump away, the malicious intent of the energy faded, leaving behind something warm and soft, something that caressed Illumi's cheek and ruffled his hair.

There's a barest hint of a smile quirking Illumi's lips ever so slightly upwards as he makes his way towards the boy, the energy getting denser and denser as he approaches. Its malicious intent has long since faded, so the energy simply feels like a very warm and gentle hug.

For someone that abhors nearly all physical contact, the sensation is surprisingly pleasant.

Illumi kneels beside the boy, looking him over once more, head cocked to the side and gaze considering. Although the cuts on the other boy's face have healed, the blood still remains, rusty red and flaky. He's dirty as well and the clothes he's wearing have obviously seen better days.

With a hand that has taken a life not even an hour earlier, Illumi reaches forward to cup the boy's cheek, having seen some couples do such a thing while doing reconnaissance work. The strange emotion in his chest grows and grows, until he's overflowing with the nameless feeling and his heart is pounding. His other hand grabs at his chest and his gaze becomes sharper and more intent as Illumi looks over the unconscious boy.

"Yes." He says monotonously, yet decisively. "I'm going to keep you."

The boy, whose eyelids fluttered briefly when Illumi's hand made contact with his cheek, doesn't respond.

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_Fin_ ... (for now)

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Next chapter will feature Illumi's family's reactions to Harry.

I'm planning another hp/hxh crossover and a few other hp xovers and fics, so be on the lookout for those!

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I'm blackqualad over on tumblr if you want to follow me for more ridiculousness!

Review if you'd like! Positive feedback and concrit will certainly help me update faster (maybe)!


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